Monster Dash

DLC Review from Jae - Saturday, 21 August 2010 @ 5:13pm

My initial thought of this game was that it was part of the 'Dash' series in which Diner Dash had become famous for. Big whoopsie there. Our beloved Brisbane development studio, Halfbrick, have come out with another iPhone/iPod touch title that aims at the casual market of gamers. Halfbrick definitely have this drug like addiction to their games down pat and the price of admission is well worth it.

Gamers take control of Barry Steakfries (the 2nd best name in the world, right behind Bear Grylls) as he makes his way through this side scrolling shooter. Equipped with a default short range shotgun Barry jumps and collects weapons and health along the way to make it to his ultimate goal. Which I'm not sure what that is. Perhaps some tomato sauce to go with his steakfries? Or chicken salt, everybody loves a little chicken salt. Along the way there are some obstacles, most notably monsters. Vampires, Zombies, Mummies and Demons all depending on the world in which you're in. You will warp to a different world every 1000 meters and be prepared for some fast paced movement once you get past the 2nd world.

Get off my great wall of China

The weapons are diverse and fun to play around with. Apart from your staple shotgun you have access to machine guns, Mr Zappy (ala Lightning Gun circa 1999 Quake 3 Arena), the Pacifier which is a one shot kill and everybody's favourite the Machine Gun Jetpack. I think this is the new Rocket Launcher for video games. I proclaim from this day on more games need to have Machine Gun Jetpacks. I would find myself holding onto the jet pack for as long as possible as it serves a dual purpose of shooting down monsters but also helping you avoid falling to your death. With only those variations in weapons I yearn for more which Halfbrick will surely provide in upcoming updates.

The game is much in the vain of an online flash game Canabalt but extends on the concept by introducing shooting, power ups and some quirky one liners. The online leaderboards and Open Feint functionality make it easy to see how you fare amongst your friends and the world. At last sighting I could see a high score of 8375m and the highest on my friends list is currently 6169m. I've got some training to do!

Vampires that don't sparkle

Halbrick have proven their worth with a high level of detail in what would be considered a small game for the iPhone. Upon killing monsters they crumble into their respective horror genres. Vampires turn into a flock of bats, zombies have their heads roll off the screen and mummies turn into piles of toilet paper. It's detail you don't expect so when you notice it you can only smile and hope to see some more. You know with Halfbrick's history they'll continue to update and expand the game to make it a better experience.

Pros

Endless fun on your iPhone/iPod Touch
Machine Gun Jet Packs
Level of detail
It's only $1.19!

Cons

Limited weaponry (for now)