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
Video Review: OMG Pirates! - Get Your Ninja On!
Price: $1.99
App Store Link: Full / No Lite Version
Verdict: Love it!
Replay Value: Very High
Pros: Fun artwork; great gameplay, controls and combo system; high replay value.
Cons: Campaign mode is somewhat short and the plot line is lacking.
Bottom Line: OMG Pirates! is a highly enjoyable, fast-action, survival hack’n’slash. The fun cartoonish animation and simple controls give this app very unique appeal. If you’re a fan of Zombieville USA, this is a must!
OMG Pirates! If this exclamation sounds familiar, then you just might be a ninja. Or playing the newest app from the makers of Zombieville USA.
OMG Pirates! uses the same unique artwork style and simple gameplay mechanics that helped make Zombieville so popular. And yet despite the few similarities, OMG Pirates! manages to feel like its own game, and not just a cookie cutter clone of Zombieville.
At its core, OMG Pirates! is a slice and dice survival game that manages to effectively integrate some elements of classic sidescroller and RPG gameplay. If you haven't guessed by now, you play the role of a lone ninja battling an endless army of... OMG... pirates!
On first launch, there is only one gameplay mode available, campaign; however beating campaign mode unlocks survival mode as well as the “hard” difficulty setting for campaign mode. The control scheme is well laid out and simple to use, primarily consisting of a virtual d-pad, attack button, and jump button. But don’t be fooled by the simplicity; a variety of special moves and combo chains can be unleashed once a player masters the timing of the game. Additionally, there’s also a super-move button that gradually charges to unleash devastating super attacks.
In campaign mode, players will battle through nine missions, each with about three sub-stages of play. At the end of specific missions, players will have to fight fun and unique boss battles to progress. There’s a very loose storyline that connects the various stages together, but it seems little more than a perfunctory addition. As players slay pirates, they gradually fill the ninja’s experience bar, increasing his skill level, and each new level brings the ninja specific new moves, power-ups, or abilities.
Survival mode is fairly straightforward and self-explanatory. The goal is to kill as many pirates as possible before they kill you. A tally is kept at the top of the screen. One major improvement OMG Pirates! has over Zombieville is the inclusion of multiple types of enemies, each with their own unique look, including all of the bosses.
Overall, I found OMG Pirates! extremely fun and enjoyable with tons of replay value. In fact, this pick up and play app offers a surprisingly large amount of depth. My biggest gripe about the app is that I’d like to see a much larger campaign; it took me less than 2 hours to push through the entire campaign on the normal difficulty setting. That said, with the inclusion of a survival mode, the game has plenty of replay value to keep me coming back for more and to make me feel like I got my money’s worth.
Things I’d personally like to see in future updates include new stages, villains, storyline, and ninja levels (even if only through downloadable content). I’d also love to see a multiplayer option for both co-op and versus play.
If you’ve been looking for a good action game, OMG Pirates! is sure to entertain, especially if you’re a fan of Zombieville USA.
