Asteroids vs Planet – Review
By App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: Asteroids vs Planet
Version #: 1.0
Date Released: 2009-10-22
Developer:
Price: 0.99
User Rating:
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You’re in charge of protecting a planet that looks a lot like Earth. Asteroids, big and small, are coming in from every direction. Luckily, unlike most planets, which are fixed in orbit and can’t move to avoid potentially harmful rocks to save their lives, your planet can move around space, at least the space that is allowed by the iPhone’s screen.
Upon launch of Asteroids vs Planet, you are asked to hold your device at a comfortable position before tapping to proceed to the game. This supposedly calibrates the tilt sensors, but for some reason it doesn’t seem to work properly. The planet always turns out to be off-center even when holding the device at the specified position. Anyway, by tilting your device during the game, you can dodge the asteroids and ensure your planet’s survival at least until the next asteroid comes along. You see, getting hit by an asteroid will decrease your planet’s health level, and the bigger the asteroid, the more it hurts. Once your planet’s health is exhausted, it’s game over. So you must tilt and dodge as best as you can. A planet’s life is at stake, in case that reality hasn’t sunk in yet.
In case dodging a particular large asteroid is nearly impossible, you can tap anywhere on the screen to activate a forcefield that will render your planet temporarily immune to any asteroid that hits it. You are allowed only three forcefields in every game, so it’s wise to use them only when really needed. Again, it’s a planet’s life we’re talking about here, so you must stay vigilant. Can’t you see the look on your planet’s face? It’s worried sick! It’s stuck in the middle of a difficult situation, as evidenced by the less than cheerful game graphics.
You can increase your score dramatically (oh, I almost forgot that this is just a game where your goal is to achieve a high score) by trying to stay inside the circle at the center of the screen. Stay within the circle long enough to illuminate all dots surrounding it and stars will shoot outward from the center, an indication that your score has just skyrocketed momentarily. I wonder, though, why those shooting stars don’t do anything to the asteroids that they hit. It would have been great to have them serve as special weapons that could destroy any asteroid that gets in their way, instead of being just for show. And since we’re all crazy about scoring high, why not have an online leaderboard or OpenFeint integration as well? That way we get to know who has the bragging rights for being the best protector of an asteroid-stricken blue planet.
Quick Take
Value:Low.
Would I Buy Again:Probably.
Learning Curve:Low to medium. An instructions page appear every time you launch the game. Everything you need to know is there.
Who Is It For:People who enjoy tilt-to-live games.
What I Like:The suitably designed graphics.
What I Don't Like:Inaccurate calibration of tilt sensors. No bonus weapons.
Final Statement:Dodge asteroids and try to stay in the zone in this fun, albeit somewhat lacking, tilt-controlled game.
