AR Invaders Review

Thursday, June 2, 2011

AR Invaders Review

at 8:04 AM

AR Invaders Review

By Ryan Wood on June 2nd, 2011
Our Rating:

:: CAMERA WAR
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

AR Invaders is an enjoyable marriage of the iPhone camera and alien UFO destruction.

Developer: Soulbit7
Price: Free
Version Reviewed: 2.1.0
Device Reviewed on: iPhone 4

Graphics / Sound Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.08 out of 5 stars

AR Invaders combines the iPhone camera with an alien invasion to create a unique and exciting gaming experience that makes you look silly while being incredibly fun. Invaders uses the scope of the camera to create a 360 degree war zone that UFOs populate. A user interface complete with two different weapons, a hit point bar, and radar provide the medium used to take the war to the aliens. Additional weapons become available at certain level intervals. AR Invaders does require an iPhone or iPod Touch 4 to play, however Soulbit7 has Look-Up for 3GS users, following the same style of play with preloaded areas.

Nine levels populate the game, each level increasing in difficulty. The size, number, and speed of the UFOs change/increase in difficulty at each level keeping the game competitive and enjoyable. The game is playable in both 360 degree and 180 degree modes, allowing for standing and sitting play. The 360 mode makes for the greatest reaction from a third party, but the 180 mode seemed to work better in regards to functionality. It seemed that more spinning was required then assumingly would be necessary for such a game. Unfortunately, I was unable to try the multiplayer functionality, but assuming that two players can play within the same room, the possibility sounds insanely exciting if not a little dangerous.

I take a slight issue with the marketing approach that exists within the game, but it's the way free games tend to be. Right now, at least, AR Invaders is free of charge, but firing up the app provides an advertising page for a $0.99 feature that players can purchase. Unfortunately, the minor upgrade provided from the $0.99, a radar upgrade, really amounts to paying to remove the advertisement from the publishers. If the app ever stops being free, I can see this being a serious source of contention for users.

Taking this marketing issue out of the equation, this game offers a lot of excitement. I see a lot of potential for this kind of game, and it certainly is the first experience I've personally had with this kind of combination, but I'm a recent Verizon adopter of the iPhone so previous titles may have missed me. AR Invaders is a lot of fun, and I had a lot of fun playing it. When my wife picked it up, she played for 15 minutes or so before she got so dizzy she had to sit down, recovered, and picked the game back up again.