1st Impressions

This review is probably different than any other that I have written in that my opinion of the game (or multiple games as in this case) changes as the review goes on so pay attention and see if you can follow my train of thought.

Handmark and Astraware have become world leaders when it comes to games for the smart phone and the graphics capabilities of the iPhone really allowed they to create some great games that are beautiful as well.  I have purchased several of them for my iPhone (many more than I would admit to my wife… LOL)  and found them to be some of the favorite games I have on my iPhone.

With all that being the case, I have to admit that I was initially a little disappointed with the implementation of the games that were included in Astraware Board Games. I felt like Randy Jackson when, while judging contestants in American Idol, he begins by saying, “You know I like you, Dog, but I have to keep this real.  That song just didn’t do it for me.”  By that I mean that I am a great fan of Astraware and have reviewed their games for years but this one in particular just didn’t impress me as much as I had hoped the first time I spent much time with it. If forced to, I would have initially given it a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars. It isn’t because of anything glaringly wrong with any aspect of the game (graphics or game play) but, after giving it some thought, I think the issue is probably more to do with the games included than anything else.  I would have probably paid double or triple the price if the board games included were a little more complex such as Monopoly, Scrabble, The Game of  Life, or other very popular board games. Of course licensing for those games would probably be an issue that would prevent that.

With nine different games available to play, each providing not only instructions but also hints if needed, the game does indeed offer a lot of variety and the graphics are indeed very good in each game (even the more simple ones such as Tic Tac Toe) but in my opinion they just didn’t seem to quite reach the same level as other board games I have such as Monopoly of Scrabble.  Of course those games can easily cost $5.99 each so I guess getting 9 games for under $3.00 is actually a pretty good deal.

The nine different games available are Chess, Backgammon, Ludo, Checkers, Reversi, Nine Men’s Morris, Snakes and Ladders, and Tic Tac Toe.  While I was initially only familiar with five of these, the instructions and hints available with the games easily provided me enough help to play the others as well. Another advantage is that you can play each of these games against the computer or with other family members.

Astraware Board Games is available via iTunes for $2.99.  When you think about it, that is actually a great deal ($0.33 per game) and, for the price, is actually a great deal.  I can think of one situation in particular where this game would really come in handy and that is to occupy your kids in the back seat of a long road trip.  They could spend hours occupying themselves individually or playing together.  How many parents wouldn’t pay a lot more than $3.00 to keep their kids occupied while you drive? LOL

I was a diehard supporter of Palm devices for years starting with the very first generation on the Palm Pilot and migrating through several models before eventually making the jump to Windows Mobile and then on to the iPhone.  During the course of all the models I have to admit that possibly my favorite device of all (prior to the iPhone) was the Tapwave Zodiac that I used until it (along with the company) died.  It was while reviewing games for the Zodiac that I first encountered what soon became my favorite aerial combat / flight simulator game and that was “Hellfire: Apache vs. Hind”.  It was with great excitement that I discovered that the game has now been ported over to the iPhone.

At 48 years of age, my reflexes and hand/eye coordination is not what it once was so, while there are many jet fighter sims available in the iTunes store, a slower paced helicopter sim is just my speed – and Hellfire delivers that in spades.  Created by Pazzazz Games and marketed by Astraware (part of the Handmark family), Hellfire lets you utilize a mixture of accelerometer and touch screen controls to fly your choice of two different helicopters (depending on whether you choose to fly for the Soviets or the US) and, using their totally different amounts and types of armament, complete your missions.  By giving you this option, you are not only able to choose between 4 different degrees of difficulty (based on rank) and two different game modes (flying isolated missions or starting a campaign of missions and working your way up In rank) but, once you become an ace in one helicopter you can get an entire different challenge by adapting your tactics due to the different armament in the other helicopter.

The dozens of missions that you encounter start easily enough but soon become more and more challenging (even on the easy levels) as the ground to air or air to air defenses get tougher and tougher and the missions begin to add more than one objective. You start each mission with 3 lives and, once you get shot down, the mission begins all over again.

One of the things that keeps the game from becoming repetitive is the 3D environment and terrain that is used in each mission.  Whether it is the difference between the trees that you have to fly over or around (based on your altitude) or the terrain which includes everything from mountains to oceans and glaziers to deserts.  While the graphics are not as visually stunning as some games that I have seen (which I refer to as eye candy), there is something to be said for just sticking to the basics and not distracting from the game play or tie up processor time by focusing on window dressing instead of game play.

To get you started you have the option to view the built in tutorial which basically flies you through the entire first mission with instructions on how to control the helicopter’s movements as well as the selection and use of its armaments. When it comes to flying the chopper to your destination you can’t become lost because there is a large white arrow on the ground that constantly points the way to your next mission objective.

As much as I love this game, it is not perfect.  I would love to the option, for example, to pull up an objective map and set your own “waypoints” and chose the order in which you accomplish the objectives in your mission.  It would also be nice to be able to manually select individual targets in a target-rich environment instead of having them chosen for you. Another possibly easier change would be to remove that big white arrow from the screen and instead add a waypoint indicator to the radar screen and make you find things yourself.  I know that these options would require a massive rework of the game but they would make a great game even better.  Also, while there are 16 missions per helicopter, I wish that there were additional missions available – even as in-game purchases of mission packs.

Hellfire is available from iTunes for $4.99.  While I think that the price might be a little too high, the game is one that will remain on my iPhone for a long time to come. This is just a thought but a trial version might let perspective buyers get their feet wet and let them see for themselves what a great little game this is before they were dissuaded by the price.