The real innovation on the App Store is in games. So many innovative user interfaces, concepts, and my god do they all look stunning! Here’s three games on the App Store which I feel have something new to offer. Many of you must have already heard about these games, being that they’re quite a bit popular at the Store, but it’s worth the mention nonetheless.
Eliss
“How do they come up with such concepts!” said Preshit, when I showed him Eliss. Taking full advantage of multi-touch, Eliss provides some stunning gameplay on the iPhone. At first I struggled with the game; didn’t know what I was supposed to do. So for those of you who do get this game, here’s how it goes.
There’s stars, and supernovas. Your goal is to get the the right sized star into the centre of the supernova. To do so you must either join two smaller stars, or split a larger star into two. You cannot however let stars of two different colours touch each other. The levels start simple, and go on to involve you holding down three fingers trying to maneouver your way around swirly vortexes and limited space in the never ending universe. Highly recommended. The full version costs $3.99, while there’s a free ‘Lite’ version to try.
Volley
A fun looking game from TAPelicious—another one of the cleverly named ‘tap’ companies—Volley is a volley-ball game between you and the computer inside your iPhone. The ball drops into your net, and you have to move the happy head or make him jump to swing the ball to the other side. The contest between you and your competitor lasts for whoever makes the other drop the ball more than 6 times. As you advance through levels, the background graphics change; a cute refresh in scenery.
Don’t let the happy graphics fool you however. It’s more difficult than it sounds. I don’t know what stage of evolution kids are in these days, but it definitely requires good motor skills, and a lot of practise to master the art of volley. The main component that’s missing from volley however is multiplayer support. It would be so much more fun to play against a friend over bluetooth, especially since the computer inside the iPhone is so darn smart. At $2.99, it’s a cute and fun game to play.
Drawrace
Sure you have played a racing game at some point in your life, but have you ever attempted a draw-race? Another example of brilliance on the other side of an Xcode window, Drawrace allows you to draw the race, keeping in mind speed, curves, and controlling the trembling in your fingers. Once you’re done drawing the race, start the race to see the outcome. You can play a single player game against bot cars, or challenge a friend or two on the same iPhone. Once all three have drawn their races, start the race to see which car wins out.
The single player is boring, and should only be attempted if you want to practise for an upcoming match. Multiplayer (beer bets!) is where the fun is at. At $1.99, it’s a game worthy of your home screen real estate.
