Surge

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Surge

at 10:10 AM

Surge

By Danyel Rios on October 18th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: SURGING
Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad

Earn points, challenge your friends and get addicted to this customizable rapid tapper.

Developer: Tom Ward
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPod touch

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.94 out of 5 stars

I am gonna be quite blunt here: I am so glad that I held on to Surge and waited for the update. Originally I thought the game was repetitious and mundane. While it was a great try for an innovative tapping game, it was just drab. Well, that was before the most recent update. Very rarely can only one update take a game from “Meh” to “YAY! Let’s do this again!” but Tom Ward, the indie developer for Surge, came through with flying colors.

The player’s goal is to tap all the blocks that appear onscreen. Points are earned for each tapped block. If the player taps all the blocks in a wave (a round), the player will be given the the option to “surge” (more blocks and faster!) the next wave. In order to collect all the points in a surged wave, the player must complete that surged wave perfectly. If not, then all of the points acquired during the surge will be lost.

Sounds simple enough, right? But with the all-new game mode system, the player can adjust the challenges for practically never ending game play. Combine game modes for a personalized experience! With universal app play, new multiple game modes with options like 3 speeds, a permanent surge mode plus 96 patterned waves, 12 unique levels with slick Tron-like graphics, Game Center support, and achievements, Surge has become the tapper underdog to beat.

My only complaint at this point is a left over from the original release. While in the middle of a intense wave with frantic two finger tapping I will unintentionally hit pause multiple times in a wave. Pause is pressing two fingers down at the same time on the screen. If were possible to trigger a pause with a two or three finger drag this would amend the accidental mid-gaming pause.

Surge is a funky tapper that has converted this non-believer. I am happy to throw my original thoughts out the door and replace them with slick futuristic-retro graphics (this is what Ender’s Game now looks like in my head), explosive tapping, fresh robo-symphonies, exciting challenges and personally the best thing that any game can offer: customization. Hats off to Surge.