Hey, Super Crate Box, the awesome arcade and shooting game released by Vlambeer way back in 2010. What are you doing on the iTunes App Store? What's that? Being as awesome as the PC/Mac downloadable version? Sounds great! With handfuls of unlockables, perfectly-tweaked touch controls, and a constant worldwide tally of crates collected, you'll be short on excuses not to play this lovely, crazy little game.
Pick up crates. Get a new weapon each time you get a crate. Shoot some enemies. Keep going until you die, or until your iPhone battery disintegrates from your sweaty palms that refuse to stop playing. That's Super Crate Box in 36 words. By gathering crates you increase your score, unlock new player skins, gain access to new modes of play and new maps, and unlock brand new weapons to blast those pesky enemies away with.
The tense balance between increasing your score, hanging on to useful weapons, and fending off those evil little jerk enemies is constantly in flux in Super Crate Box. Your score only increases by collecting crates, but if you grab one, your weapon changes. You could be left with the slow shotgun, or maybe you'll luck out and get the bazooka? You won't know until you go for it, and since blasting enemies and simply staying alive earns you nothing, you'll be running for boxes every time you see one appear!
Analysis: What more can we say about Super Crate Box? Our original review for the downloadable version remarked on the game's easy replayability as well as its short levels that manage to pull you in for surprisingly long playing sessions. It's a game where you'll only survive for 30 seconds at a time, but you'll somehow play it for an hour without even realizing it. All for the sake of increasing your high score by one more crate!
The universal iOS port of this game is as good as a touch screen port can be. It's always a worry when a game of reflexes loses physical buttons in favor of a smooth screen, but in this case, after a slight period of adjustment, you'll be running around like a pro in no time. Super Crate Box runs smoothly and looks great, and if you own an iPad, you can even play it in portrait mode (which includes iCade support, if you own one)!
Super Crate Box for iOS is a perfect port of the original. It's a game that works in short bursts but opens itself up for repeated (and extended) sessions, making it one of the easiest ways to entertain yourself with an iPhone or iPad. Get it and love it!
Could also check out Muffin Knight which has shinier graphics and multiplayer.
Besides that SCB is the original in this case, I like the graphics better than those of Muffin Knight. And the gameplay is much tighter. Super Crate Box is the better game in my opinion.
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