The App Shelf for iPhone and iPod touch
Top Shelf Apps for week of July 27, 2010New apps added every Tuesday! |
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Reviews
Review: Battle of Puppets - It’s Not Over Until the Fat Puppet Sings!
Price: $1.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: High
Pros: Beautiful artwork; fun gameplay; good use of touchscreen; lots of content
Cons: No Multiplayer
Bottom Line: Battle of Puppets is a beautifully animated, simple, straightforward, and well-balanced castle vs. castle app, perfect for casual play, but with enough complexity to keep it interesting. Simply put: A must have for any fan of the genre.
If you think opera is boring, then you’ve obviously never played Battle of Puppets. Battle of Puppets is a beautifully animated castle vs. castle style app that pits five opera-themed armies against each other. Each of the puppet armies is led by a renowned opera heroine, such as Madama Butterfly, Carmen, or Valkiria, who grant their armies various special attributes.
For those not familiar with the castle vs. castle genre, basic gameplay consists of sending armies or individual units--each with a specific strength and weakness--to attack and destroy your opponent’s castle, all while defending your castle from similar attacks. The heart of the genre rests in discovering the proper strategy to win each unique battle.
The iPhone has seen a flood of these titles over the last year, but what separates Battle of Puppets from competitor apps is not any revolutionary re-imaginations of the genre, but instead a focus on optimizing and perfecting the castle vs castle experience for the iPhone. One of the first things players will notice as they begin their military campaign across the country side, is the care that went into creating the charmingly animated puppets and unique, cartoonish backdrops for each locale.
As the game progresses, players will begin to notice the nuance Battle of Puppets brings to the table, including the significance of the environment, such as day, night, hot, and cold, on the battlefield. In addition to the beautiful atmosphere, players can unlock unique touchscreen gestures called “professions” that give them quick access to special abilities on the battlefield, such as haste, stun, and repair just to name a few.
Overall, Battle of Puppets offers one of the best castle vs. castle experiences on the iPhone. It provides a beautiful and fun-filled castle vs. castle experience with plenty of content, and all optimized for the iPhone OS. In this reviewer’s opinion, the only thing this app is missing is a multiplayer mode. If you’re a fan of the genre, this is definitely an app you don’t want to miss.
