Format: iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
Developer: Mutant Labs Inc
As incredible as it is that we now have games on the iOS that give consoles a real run for there money. One of the things that I personally love is the way that we have gotten many games that are a throw back to the 80’s and 90’s. Half-Inch Heist is one of those games, but is it any good?
I love the art style of Half-Inch Heist I would say that it has more in common with a 16-bit video game than one you might find on the NES, but it is still a really cool throw back. I remember when the Sony Playstation started to pick up steam and many gamers turned there nose up at games that still used 2D sprites. Now though it is like we crave them. Anyway this is a great looking game. Even with its old school look everything about the game has a high quality look to it.
The game play of Half-Inch Heist is best described as a bullet hell shooter. You know the kind of game where there are bullets and other projectiles coming at you from all angles. Well that is Half-Inch Heist, but this game has one thing different. And that is you cannot shoot. Most games like this as well as making you dodge things will also let you shoot the bad guys. Well do not expect any of that here. This is a game that is all about survival through dodging. Maybe if Ghandi were to have made a bullet hell shooter he would have gone for the pacifist approach like this game has.
Anyway I like the idea, but the problem is this game is hard as hell. I know many of you are thinking that this is what bullet hell shooters are supposed to be like, but this game is relentless. I must have died a million times before I even got to face the first boss. The control is easy enough just one figure is all that is needed to move your craft around the screen. But the game gets more and more frustrating. The main reason that I would die would be because I would be hit by something that my finger I was using to control the game covered part of the screen. In a game that requires lightning like quick reflexes this is a huge flaw that results in frustrating death after frustrating death.
Another problem with the game is that the enemies are not random so each time you die you will have to fight the same enemies over and over again. Which really makes each time you die and have to restart even more frustrating.
I love the idea of this game and the art style, but the game to be is more frustrating than it is fun. The line between frustratingly difficult and challenging, but still fun is a very thin one. And sadly this is a game that is certainly more on the frustrating side.