Okay Geek Farm
Thursday
Dec162010
App Review - The Incident (iPhone and iPad)
Jason Tsay
Some people are turned off by games without photo-realistic graphics, and if you’re one of them then you might first be turned off by The Incident. But if you’re a fan of Doodle Jump, or even just enjoy 8-bit art and music, then you will LOVE this game. Made by Big Bucket Software, this indie pick is definitely one of the most addicting iPhone games ever invented. Want to know why?
The game is damn simple, a characteristic shared by all great games. You play as Frank Solway, who is just walking along minding his own business when suddenly, random items start falling out of the sky - and by random, we mean everything from a BMW M3 to an arcade machine. The point of the game is to jump as high as you can without getting hit too many times. Of course, the game gives you a warning about where the next object will fall, as well as the size of the object by a flashing bar at the top of the screen. You are also aided by randomly appearing floating balloons which allow you to get power-ups; such as a helmet. Awesome looking pixel graphics are paired with an equally addicting 8-bit soundtrack by Cabel.
As for controls; tilt your iPhone to move your guy and tap anywhere to jump. $1.99 ($0.99 on sale) will admit you both the iPhone/iPod Touch version and the iPad version since the game is a universal binary. You can even use your iPhone/iPod Touch as a controller for the game on your iPad, but Connor will be covering that later in this review.There are 2 modes of the game to boot - The Rise & Fall of Frank Solway (Story Mode), and Endless Nightfall, which is an infinite mode to compete with you friends via Game Center. The other section of the game is The Trophy Room, where you collect items that kill you at certain heights. Strings of flags (inspired by Back to the Future) act as checkpoints which save your progress until your last life. When you hit certain checkpoints you progress onto the next level.
Complete with Game Center integration, The Incident is just good ol’ plain fun. Still not sold? A lite version of the game lets you play for quite some time before making up your mind. Oh, well looks like Connor just beat my high score! Time to get back to the game!
Connor’s Review
The Incident in its own right is an amazing game which has so much to offer, and for only $1.99 (Currently $.99) you get the iPad app as well as the iPhone and iPod touch versions. This is not what separates The Incident from most games however, it’s the revolutionary built-in remote system.The remote system allows you to connect your iPod Touch or iPhone to your iPad and use them as a remote. It uses bluetooth to connect the two devices together and completes the experience with both devices displaying a certain aspect of the game. While you’re looking at your iPad, your iPhone is displaying which objects will be falling next as well as acting as your controller. The game automatically takes care of the audio on the iPhone and only plays it out of the iPad, which is something that most games that link devices together don’t take care of. The Incident really makes the whole experience enjoyable, making the link process completely painless. In my tests alone, out of 20 connects that I tested not one test encountered an error or any problems.
The technology behind this remote control when you think about it, is quite simple but it is something that not too many games have done, and it really provides you with a unique experience when playing the game. In addition to the Incident’s amazing iPad controller they have allowed you to take your iPad and connect it to your TV over the VGA adapter. To obtain the ability to do this you have to update to the latest version of the game, 1.3 which is a free upgrade.
Overall, The Incident, with its old school look and sound, as well as its modern remote technology, is amazing game that you just can’t put down. It is a field of joy and 8-bit goodness. It immerses you into a beautiful and colorful world of the most obscure objects, creating a humorous yet enjoyable time. My final thoughts of the game are download, download, download! Currently running at $0.99, it is one of the greatest deals on the App Store yet, but wait did I mention you get all three versions for the one time price of $.99? I think I may have said that before but I think it’d be a good idea to reiterate it.
NOTE - When Connor and Jason reviewed the app, the price was in fact 99 cents. The price has since gone back to its normal $1.99.
If there are any other games or apps that you’d like us to review, feel free to leave a comment below or @ reply us on Twitter!
References (2)
Big Bucket Software
The Incident
