Download Games Roundup
Leave! Dash! Attack! Jump! Jump some more!
Widget's Odyssey 2
- PSN Minis (PS3 & PSP) / £3.49
Splitting a free Flash game into two parts and then charging people for each is either a sign of misplaced confidence, or a bit dim. At the very least, it's a little on the cheeky side, but that's exactly what Frima has decided to do with its 2007 hit, Widget's Odyssey.
You probably wouldn't mind paying for the convenience of being able to play a charming little platform puzzler. Indeed, I didn't mind the first one, mainly because the puzzle design was challenging and fun, but most of this second helping is inexcusably shonky.
As before, the idea is to guide various lovably hapless robots across hazardous environments and gather up bits of machinery. Being a bit rubbish, these metallic lumps can't really do much more than bound around or kick limply. For a while, that's all part of the game's appeal.
But when you find yourself constantly messing up routine jump manoeuvres because of vindictive collision detection, the whole thing becomes aggravating - a war of attrition against poorly designed controls. Aside from that, the puzzles just aren't that interesting the second time around, and it all feels like a routine exercise.
All of this comes as a minor let-down after the promise of the first portion, and all you're left with is a few delightful cut-scenes and mild irritation to show for your £3.49. Next.
4/10
Air Attack HD
- iPad & iPhone / £0.59
Sometimes it's boring if you just focus exclusively on the cream of the crop in a download roundup, right? Now and again, you see a game like Air Attack riding high at the top of the Paid App charts and wonder why the buying public have spontaneously gone mental about something - other than the fact that it's dirt cheap.
Perhaps it's the exciting prospect of seeing a decent vertical shooter on the glorious iPad screen for the first time that inspired everyone to slap down their cash. For 59p, it's the perfect no-risk purchase.
In this case, you get what you pay for, though. While there's no denying that the enhanced HD version really brings the richly detailed backdrops to life, it doesn't mask the fact that it's a deeply average shooter when judged on its own merits.
Essentially a mashup of every mid-eighties top-down shooter you've ever played, it serves as a wistful trip down memory lane to a time when games like Xevious and 1942 were considered cutting-edge. Despite offering slick touch-screen controls and intuitive precision, Air Attack doesn't deign to spoil the party and challenge too hard, offering a procession of undemanding levels to pass the time.
With no real attempt to be anything other than a tribute to that fondly remembered era, Air Attack is the kind of game you'll happily run through a few times before adding it to the pile of cheap apps you'll never use again. Job done.
5/10