Mike V: Do or Die – Skateboarding: Review

Mike V: Do or Die – Skateboarding appeared in the app store yesterday afternoon for $4.99. It is the second full-fledged skateboarding game to come out (after Skater Nation). Even though these two games have the same theme, they are totally different games. In Do or Die, you move using the accelerometer, not a virtual d-pad. Also, the tricks are pulled off by sliding or holding a skateboard on the right side of the screen. The best comparison I can make of the controls is to Touch Grind, without the board taking up the whole screen.



There are two game modes in Do or Die: Career and Free Ride. In Career, there are 7 different levels. You have a limited amount of time to gain experience to pass the level. Experience is gained by doing tricks and doing combos. In you gain enough experience, you level up. This gets you new gear. There is a lot more customization in Do or Die than in Skater Nation. In Free Ride, you select a location to go, and then you drive a cool car using the accelerometer and your finger to drive to that location. The driving part of the game is fun, but it feels out of place. In free ride you are able to go to all 7 locations no matter if you have unlocked them or not.



The controls in Do or Die are easy to get used to if you have played touchgrind. But if you haven’t played touchgrind, it will take some time to get used to it. You can swipe, tap, hold, or double-tap the board in various places to pull off tricks. One thing I found weird was that it is very hard to crash. You can pull off crazy tricks without having to start with an Ollie. The controls in Do or Die are creative and fun, but you could easily get frustrated with them.

The graphics in Do or Die, in my opinion, aren’t as good as Skater Nation’s. However the developer of Do or Die is more available than Gameloft, so I believe that the developer will listen to any feedback. Overall, if you are a skateboarding fanatic, you will find yourself at home with the controls and the game. I have seen many opinions about the game, and everyone wants a comparison to Skater Nation. So I’ll give my opinion. I prefer Skater Nation to Do or Die because of the controls. I felt at home with the normal A and B controls plus the virtual d-pad. However I never played touchgrind, so it was hard for me to get the controls right.

Before you go out and buy the game you need to note: THIS GAME REQUIRES THE IPHONE 3G OR BETTER, AND THE IPOD TOUCH 2G OR BETTER. So before you spend $4.99 on a game, make sure that your device meets the requirements. Another thing to note is that this game allows you to play your own music, so you don’t have to listen to their soundtrack if you don’t want to. If you still aren’t convinced, there are some websites you can go to see videos.

Video game main trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy4SCUZFVIw
Official Website: http://mikevdoordie.com/
Even more videos: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=46078&highlight=mike

Overall 3.5 out of 5 (hard controls, good graphics, great skateboarding experience)

Mike V:Do or Die-Skateboarding on the App Store.

Stinger Table Hockey: Review

Stinger Table Hockey is the first realistic bubble hockey simulator on the app store. You can choose to be one of 38 different countries, and you can also create your own teams. You can customize their name and uniforms. Stinger Table Hockey has 4 different modes to play: Single, Multiplayer, Tournament, and Skills. Each has its own unique features that keep you occupied. Stinger Table Hockey also has OpenFeint to help track your high scores. The link to OpenFeint is found within the settings, so it is somewhat hidden away.



The single player, multiplayer, and tournament modes are self explanatory. In single player, you chose 2 teams and play a quick match. In Multiplayer, using wither wifi or Bluetooth, you can face off against a friend. In tournament mode, there are 4 teams that play a round-robin type playoff to determine a champion. The only mode that needs explaining is Skills. In skills, you can choose from 3 different events: hardest shot, sniper, and shootout. The hardest shot is simple…you get an empty net, and you try to shoot it as hard as possible. In sniper, you score as many goals in 60 seconds as you can. In shootout, you score as many goals as you can…but if the goalie makes 3 saves then its game over.

The controls make a game like this fun, and Stinger Table Hockey does not disappoint. The controls are easy to learn, hold and drag up/down to move; hold and drag left/right to spin the player. It takes a little getting used to, but after a few games you should find it easy to maneuver and fun to play. The difficulty level is there, the AI is pretty good. I found myself quickly down 4-0 in my first game. It was a combination of me just learning the controls, and the goalie couldn’t stop a beach ball. No one will ever be able to replicate the actual feel of playing bubble hockey because slamming rods is half the fun. However Stinger Table Hockey brings that feel back.

Stinger Table Hockey also includes OpenFeint, with both online leaderboards and achievements. There are leaderboards for everything from hardest shot, to most goals. There are 6 achievements, spanning from your first goal, to your 100th goal. You can get up to 280 OpenFeint points.

Overall Stinger Table Hockey is a great bubble hockey simulator. It comes as close as possible to giving you that real “arcade” feel. The developer is obviously a big hockey fan, because it feels like the game is very polished, and you can feel that the developer tried to make everything feel authentic. With the 4 game modes, including multiplayer, Stinger Table Hockey will be on my iPod for a long time to come. This is the first bubble hockey simulator, and it is the first real hockey game to come to the iDevice. That being said, Stinger Table Hockey is a great game if you love playing bubble hockey, or if you like hockey in general. After getting used to the controls, be prepared to put a lot of time into this game. Stinger Table Hockey is available in most countries at a cheap price of $1.99. Nothing is stopping you from picking this game up!

Overall 5/5 (The only bubble hockey simulator in the App Store)

Stinger Table Hockey on the App Store.

Be Free or Die: Review

Be free or die is a 3d first person shooter game for the iPod touch. This game has you walking through various stages and trying to complete objectives, while still killing zombies. This is one of the better FPS available for the platform, but some control issues pull it down a little. Be free or die is currently FREE for a promotion by the developer for more feedback, so I suggest that you download this game right away, because I don’t know how long the promotion will last.

The gameplay in be free or die is simple but fun. You are a zombie hunter, traveling through the woods and dangerous city trying to collect money to buy better guns and machinery. There is currently 5 levels in the game, which is a little short, but the developer promised more levels in a coming update. You start the game off with a small machine gun, but you are able to gain better weapons while playing. There is also the option to get a rocket launcher if you rate the app in itunes, which is a great incentive to get some good ratings. There are various pick-ups along the way, like new guns and health boxes. Each level also has its own objective, which get harder every level. The hardest part of the game for me was when I reached the end of the level, and I still had zombies left to kill. Then I had to go back and find them. Other than that the gameplay was there, but the lack of levels left me wanting more.



The graphics in this game are decent. If you are hoping this game has graphics like COD, then look elsewhere. The zombies in this game look similar to the zombies in the game Dead Strike, and the app screenshots clearly show the graphics. The controls are also hard to get used to. There are 4 different control options, which gives you a lot of options, but I find that when you want to quickly turn, the controls lag a bit. I think this game would benefit for a 180 button which would allow the player to quickly turn. I also found the swipe to look to be a little sensitive, so I wasn’t really fond of that option.



Overall be free or die is a quality FPS. Right now it is being offered for free, and I thought it was a bargain at $.99, so I suggest that you pick this game up before the sale ends. I also think that the developer had a good idea when he offered a weapon in exchange for a review, because most developers like to see a lot of feedback on their games. The only issues I had with this game was the length (but more is supposedly on the way), the control lag, and no system to point out hard to see zombies. Even if you get this game and you don’t like it, you are not losing anything. SO I suggest that if you like FPS games that you try out be free or die because it is a quality FPS game on the app store.

Overall 3.5/5 (Quality FPS game)

Be Free or Die on the App Store.