Inkvaders is a 2D side scrolling shooter, (a la Zombieville USA) complete with all the trimmings. Chillingo has been known for some pretty great games. With their newest release, will they hit or miss? So get ready to be taken to your leader, it’s time for Inkvaders.
Inkvaders, as stated above, is a 2D side scrolling shooter where you play a cut-from-the-page astronaut with a gun and a little bit of attitude. The setting is a notebook that has been ‘inkvaded’ with martians. Your job? Kill anything that moves. If you couldn’t tell already, the gameplay is simple, and refined. But don’t turn away yet, Inkvaders has some unique gameplay concepts to keep you interested.
For example, as you cruise through the story mode (complete with three different difficulties) you come across vending machines along the way. You earn cash by destroying enemies or grabbing floating orbs along the way. (More on those later.) The vending machines let you purchase anything from health, to ammo, to weapon upgrades.
The control scheme is simple and laid out directly in front of you. Use left and right to move, press the weapon bar to switch out your weapons, etc. A gameplay feature you’ll take notice of is the jetpack. You can use the jetpack to fly over martians’ heads and grab those cash orbs I mentioned above. It adds a new dimension to the gameplay, and you’ll find yourself using your jetpack consistently.
In the story mode, you go from level (a ‘page’) to level, spanning across three unique worlds. There are a few different types of enemies, but none of them have anything big that separates them from each other (aside from strength, image, and health). The lack of diversity in the enemies isn’t much of a big deal, though.
Little gameplay elements like finding random crates that you tap to unlock which hold things like ammunition, health, and jetpack fuel, are what make Inkvaders stand out from the crowd of side-scrollers. Find a ‘rush’ crate? Tap it to unleash a horde of martians upon yourself.
The graphics in Inkvaders are top-notch. The environments are all fantastic, the martian deaths are gory as ever, and the menus look just fine. As far as 2D games go, you won’t find much better. The sound is great, too. The unique compositions fit the game’s theme well, and the sound effects add to the atmosphere.
Before you play, check out the Boot Camp option that will give you the basic run-down. Once you finish the story mode, you can move onto Endurance. A never-ending stream of levels in a test to see how far you can get. You can check your scores in both Endurance and Story on all three difficulties. (But an online high score board is missing) There are some options like difficulty, music, and sound effects as well.
I had only a few gripes with the game, and they are all very fixable. For example, in the beginning, the cash orbs are great. But later on, it’s pretty useless to go up and get them. Another problem was the jetpack fuel. They give you plenty of opportunity to buy and grab more fuel, but I never once even got remotely close to running out. And, to boot, it recharges automatically.
When you play Inkvaders, you’ll notice the simple gameplay, but with the unique gameplay elements, top-notch graphics and sound, and attention to detail, you’ll realize that this game stands out from the crowd of 2D shooters. If you’re into the genre, or just want some quick, cheap fun, look no further. Inkvaders has landed.
Current Status: Highly Recommended
Reviewed at: v1.0
Reviewed on Firmware: 3.0
Download size: 18.9MB
Released on: 19th Aug 2009
Retails for: £0.59 / $0.99
Compatible with: iPod touch Gen 1 & 2 / iPhone Classic / iPhone 3G / iPhone 3GS
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